CHAPTER I
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MESSRS. ELDER, DEMPSTER & CO.
The firm of Elder, Dempster & Co. was founded in the year 1868 by Messrs. Alexander Elder and John Dempster, two gentlemen intimately acquainted with the working of the African Steamship trade. For 11 years they were the sole partners, but in 1879 they admitted Mr. (now Sir Alfred) Jones into the firm, and Mr. W. J. Davey was also taken into partnership. The original partners, Messrs. Elder and Dempster, retired from the firm in 1884. Mr. Alexander Sinclair, who became a partner in 1891, having retired in 1901, the sole partners at the present date are Sir Alfred L. Jones, K.C.M.G., and Mr. W. J. Davey.
The firm is one of the largest commercial houses in the world, and in all the various branches of commerce in which it is interested it takes a foremost position. As steamship owners it controls the largest fleet of steamers in Great Britain. The business of the firm extends so rapidly, and new steamers to meet the necessities of the several trades are so frequently being added to the fleet, that it is impossible to give a list of the vessels owned, or under the management of the firm, which will not in a short time be obsolete, but according to the official sailing list issued 28th March, 1903, the following steamers were sailing under the triple flags of Messrs. Elder, Dempster & Co.:—
ABEOKUTA. ACCRA. ADANSI. AKABA. AKASSA. ALBERTVILLE. ANCOBRA. ANDONI. ANVERSVILLE. ANGOLA. ASABA. ASHANTI. AXIM. BAKANA. BANANA. BATHURST. BATANGA. BENGUELA. BENIN. BIAFRA. BIDA. BOMA. BONNY. BORNU. BOULAMA. BURUTU. CABENDA. CAMEROON. COOMASSIE. CONGO. DAHOMEY. DEGAMA. DELTA. DODO. EGGA. EGWANGA. EKO. EKURO. ELMINA. ETHIOPIA. ETOLIA. FANTEE. FORCADOS. HAUSSA. IDDO. ILARO. ILORIN. JEBBA. KANO. KWARRA. LAGOON. LAKE CHAMPLAIN. LAKE ERIE. LAKE MANITOBA. LAKE MEGANTIC. LAKE MICHIGAN. LAKE ONTARIO. LAKE SIMCOE. LEON-Y-CASTILLIO. LOANDA. LOANGO. LYCIA. LLANDULAS. MADEIRA. MANDINGO. MAYUMBA. MELVILLE. MEMNON. MILWAUKEE. MONMOUTH. MONROVIA. MONTAUK. MONTEAGLE. MONTEZUMA. MONTREAL. MONTROSE. MONARCH. MONTCALM. MONTENEGRO. MONTEREY. MONTFORT. MOUNT ROYAL. MOUNT TEMPLE. NIGERIA. NYANGA. OLENDA. ORON. PEREZ GALDOS. PHILLIPEVILLE. PORT ANTONIO. PORT MARIA. PORT MORANT. PORT ROYAL. PRAH. ROQUELLE. SANGARA. SANSU. SEKONDI. SHERBRO. SOBO. TARQUAH. TENERIFFE. VIERA-Y-CLAVIJO. VOLTA. WARRI. YOLA. YORUBA.
As proving the difficulty of stating the number of steamships under the control of this firm, and at the same time illustrating the gigantic nature of its commercial operations, it may be stated that while this volume was in preparation for the Press, it sold to the Canadian Pacific Railway Co. an entire fleet, consisting of fifteen large ocean liners. The despatch of the last Elder-Dempster liner under the Beaver flag, on Wednesday, March 31st, 1903, was quite an historic event. She carried with her the first portion of the Rev. J. M. Barr’s colony, numbering about 2,000 souls. Thousands of spectators lined the stage, and as the liner sheered away cheer after cheer rent the air. Sir Alfred Jones, Mr. W. J. Davey, Mr. David Jones, the Revs. Canon Russell (Manchester), R. O. Greep, Dr. Lightwood, S. Gasking and H. M. Braithwaite, as well as many well-known personages in shipping and commerce, were present. The band of the 1st Liverpool Volunteers played inspiring music, including tunes reminiscent of home and friendly associations, first on the stage and afterwards on the ship.
Sir Alfred Jones expressed his regret, as he witnessed the multitude on board the Lake Manitoba, that he had consented to sell his Canadian fleet to the Canadian Pacific Railway. He said his firm had worked hard to develop Canadian colonisation, and the full fruit of their efforts was only becoming visible now when they had left the business. He commended the object of the expedition, and hoped for its success. A completely equipped colony of 2,000, with thousands more to follow in due course, was, he considered, a novelty.
Reference has been made to the three flags borne by the Elder-Dempster steamers. The Beaver flag no longer exists. The other two are (1) the white swallow-tail flag with a red St. George’s cross (gold crown in centre) of the African Steamship Co.; and the blue swallow-tail flag, with a white St. George’s cross, of the British and African Steam Navigation Co. A brief sketch of the history of both of these important companies, as well as of the Imperial Direct West India Mail Service Limited, will be found in the succeeding pages of this volume.
The management of any one of these fleets would be considered ample employment for most mercantile firms, but they are only units in the business conducted at that large hive of commerce, African House, Water Street, Liverpool, which is, by the way, shortly to be transferred to Colonial Chambers, now in course of being erected. In addition to the services mentioned, Messrs. Elder, Dempster & Co. maintain a service of Mail Steamers between Antwerp and the River Congo, under the title of the Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo, an inter-insular Mail Service at the Canary Islands, and a Coastal Service at Jamaica. They do also a large Ocean Tramp business, being prepared to carry cargo, when sufficient inducement offers, to and from any port in the world.
It is the existence of such splendidly managed mercantile fleets, such as the Elder-Dempster Line, that enabled Great Britain to astonish the world by the rapid and safe transport of troops and munitions of war during the progress of the late War in South Africa. Many years of experience in the management of steamships have enabled the company to design and construct a magnificent fleet of fast cargo liners, having lofty ’tween decks, and fitted with anti-rolling keels, electric light and every modern improvement. Several of these were chartered at an early stage of the war by the British Admiralty, and retained for voyage after voyage as transports. Nine steamers, of an aggregate gross tonnage of 52,000 tons, were requisitioned in this way. In addition to these, the firm’s steamers carried with remarkable success some 26,000 horses and 21,000 mules from New Orleans to the Cape, and some 5,000 horses and 3,000 mules from Canada, Hungary, the River Plate, &c. It may also be mentioned in this connection that the Elder-Dempster Liner MONTEREY conveyed “Strathcona’s Horse,” the MILWAUKEE the “Royal Canadians,” and the MONTFORT the Canadian contingent of Baden-Powell’s Police from Halifax, N.S., to the Cape. The MILWAUKEE was the transport selected to convey General Cronje, his family, and over 500 Boer prisoners to St. Helena. The Elder-Dempster transports had the good fortune on several occasions to be able to render material assistance to other transports which had met with mishaps. Thus they came to the assistance of the CARINTHIA a few days after she stranded at Aux Cayes, and, taking off her cargo of mules, carried them on to their destination. The MONTROSE turned up just in the nick of time to save the crew when the ill-fated MEXICAN foundered off the Cape, and when the SUFFOLK stranded it was again an Elder-Dempster liner, the LAKE ERIE, that came to her assistance, and did all that was possible to rescue the crew.
In the summer of 1902 Messrs. Elder, Dempster & Co. commenced running the luxuriously appointed ocean liner LAKE SIMCOE on pleasure cruises to the Norwegian Fjords. Those persons who have had the pleasure of travelling by this vessel are most enthusiastic in their praise of the ship, her officers and her equipment, and of all who are responsible for the comfort and enjoyment of the passengers. The LAKE SIMCOE is probably one of the largest pleasure steamers trading to the Norwegian Coast, but her rates of passage money are by no means commensurate with her size. It is an opportunity of visiting the Land of the Midnight Sun in comfort and even luxury which ought not to be missed. The fact that a large proportion of the commanders, officers, engineers, seamen and firemen serving under the firm are Royal Naval Reservists renders the Elder-Dempster fleet additionally valuable to the nation.
[Illustration: Steamship]
[Illustration: R.M.S. JEBBA. African Steamship Co. Limited.]
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